Epic night tempers Celtics' loss to Miami

Wednesday

Mar 20, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Bill Doyle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

As Celtics coach Doc Rivers admitted after his team put forth such an inspired effort without Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo to nearly end Miami’s winning streak Monday at the Garden, all most people will remember is that the Celtics lost.

That’s probably true, but the Celtics’ 105-103 loss to the Miami could also go down in history as the night Jeff Green became the all-star caliber player the Celtics hoped he’d be when they acquired him from Oklahoma City for Kendrick Perkins two years ago.

“You know what I loved about Jeff,” Rivers said after Monday’s loss, “I thought the first two minutes of the game, three minutes of the game, he was struggling. He missed a free throw, missed a couple shots. And you know the old Jeff may have gone away. He actually just kept going and kept going.”

In his career-high, 43-point night, Green made 14 of 21 shots, including five 3-pointers in seven attempts, and sank a season-high 10 free throws in 13 attempts when he wasn’t guarding LeBron James, who had 37 points. The 6-foot-9 forward also had seven rebounds and four blocked shots.

Green eclipsed his previous Celtics high of 31 points on Feb. 22 at Phoenix, also when Garnett and Rondo were out, and his career high of 37 on Dec. 10, 2010, for OKC at New Jersey. Green also tied Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker for the second-most points by a Celtic at the TD Garden since the building opened in 1995-96. Pierce owns the record with 50. Green hadn’t scored more than 21 points at the Garden as a Celtic. He finally appears fully recovered from the heart surgery that sidelined him for all of last season.

“He had a tremendous game,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He played great, he was aggressive, he was making tough plays, and he was putting a lot of pressure on our defense. Give him credit, and the guy’s been through a lot.”

The Celtics aren’t counting on Green to score 43 points every night, but they expect him to produce more than the 11.7 he’s averaged this season. Green has contributed more since Rondo suffered his season-ending knee injury, and over his last 14 games, he has averaged 16.8 points, topping the career-high 16.5 he averaged for OKC in 2008-09.

Garnett missed Monday’s game with the flu after sitting out a home win over Charlotte with a strained adductor muscle, but he accompanied the team to New Orleans Tuesday, and Rivers said he expected him to play at 8 tonight when the Celtics visit the Hornets. In the past, Green, too, often deferred to Garnett and Pierce. Green insisted he’ll remain aggressive even if Garnett returns, but that remains to be seen.

After scoring 43 points, Green deserves to replace Brandon Bass in the starting lineup, but Rivers has been reluctant to switch Garnett back to center because opposing centers wear him down. Even if Green doesn’t start, he needs to play a lot to build up his stamina. He logged 40 minutes Monday, but he asked for a breather in the fourth quarter and Miami cut the Celtics’ lead from 10 to three while he sat out for five minutes.

“Yeah, I was tired,” Green said. “I was guarding one of the best players on the floor. You know, I played basically the whole game. But I mean, we still had a chance to win.”

Green didn’t score again after he returned with 2:48 left, and two of his drives were blocked. The Celtics shot 60 percent before missing eight of their last nine shots.

“It was the best team in the league,” Green said, “and we took them to their breaking point. We just got to, when Kevin comes back, continue to play like we did (Monday). With the addition of him, I think we will be more lethal. So as long as we continue to attack, get stops, we’ll be in pretty good shape.”

Tonight is a trap game for the Celtics. They’re coming off an emotional game in which they led by 17 in the first half and by 13 in the fourth quarter, only to have Miami rally to earn its 23rd consecutive victory. New Orleans is only 22-46 and has dropped four in a row, but the Celtics have had trouble against some weak teams on the road, losing twice at both Charlotte and Detroit. Rivers gets to see his son Austin, but not on the court because the Hornets’ rookie guard is out for the rest of the season with a broken hand.

After tonight, the Celtics face a difficult back-to-back against Dallas Friday and Memphis Saturday, so a victory tonight is vital. The Celtics are tied with Chicago for sixth in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind fifth-place Atlanta.

Contact Bill Doyle at wdoyle@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillDoyle15.